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The last ones are the most difficult.. to me, Fir and Pine are very different energies - considering we have lots of them in Germany, they are easy to "feel out". Interestingly enough, Emma Restall-Orr writes on this: "Interestingly Pennick associates Ailm with Elm (Ogham & Coelbren p. 58 – Capall Bann) and there is a certain appeal to this argument. However, many who use Ogham associate it with some form of Fir or Pine tree. Although the species was I believe only introduced into these islands in the late 17th Century I have chosen to work with Silver Fir, mainly due to the lack of Scots Pine in my location in England. Whether working with Fir or Pine, many qualities and characteristics are similar, Silver Fir bearing spiny needles and cones which change colour with age throughout the year. Fir offers a vision of the possibilities before us, showing us pathways that we may tread. Yet it offers no guidance as to those paths, and does not distinguish whether we may find ourselves facing joy and elation or hurt and grief by following certain paths. In that way it holds objectivity, but no more than we hold within ourselves. By allowing us perspectives that we may otherwise fail to see, or deliberately ignore, it gives us information that may be considered of a divinatory nature. (CC)

Elm being a very old and native tree in Germany, with strong mythological roots in Germanic lore, I think I may just go with that instead....

Here, again I am puzzled about specific or general this is meant to be. Right here in this German village there are at least 4 different types of conifer within half a mile/2Km, let alone if we explore the entire town.

There are two main distinctions I have noticed. The soft needles, and the sharp needles. The other major difference in foliage is that there is a more silvery or grey type of needle and then a greener needle. Sometimes the grey is described as blue.

Is one of these a fir, and the other a?

Are all of these supposed to be included by the ogham letter? OK, so I just looked it up in the book and really its the Scots Pine...but is it only the Scots Pine or would any of you use it more widely? Now, here is something that I may ask my tutor!

Here in the North Carolina Mountains, Eastern White Pine is the tallest pine and the tallest tree. ENTS discovered and measured the tallest one known in the Eastern US. It is called the Boogerman Pine or " The Boog " for short and measured a whopping 207 feet tall before losing it's top in a storm. It was last measured at 188.8 feet. By a small margin, still the tallest tree known in the Eastern US.

Fraser Fir is found in the boreal zone above 5000 feet in the high Appalachians of NC. It shares it with Red Spruce and Rowan.

White Pine_Hendersonville NC.jpg (93.7 KiB) Viewed 4150 times

Fraser Fir on Waterrock Knob NC.jpg (52.21 KiB) Viewed 4150 times

James E Parton
Bardic Course Graduate - Ovate Student
New Order of Druids

Another white pine (pinus strobus) fan here! The woods behind our home are full of these beauties—and to think I was a little disappointed when such a "normal" tree called to me! White pines were once the tallest trees in North America, but were cut for ship masts during the age of exploration; today, none of these giant specimens remain, although the white pine population as a whole is quite healthy since it is a fast-growing species. They are a favorite of commercial tree farms for lumber, although this has indirectly led to the extermination of wild gooseberry plants, as they harbor a type of rust deadly to white pines. White Pine needles contain five times the amount of Vitamin C (by weight) of lemons and make an excellent tisane (at least according to wikipedia).

On the esoteric level, white pine has a cool green/white feel to me. The Iroquois called them the Tree of Peace, and calm is exactly what I feel sheltering under their branches. They are watchful, and give me a sense of clarity, leading me to associate them with the element Air.